Publishing House of the Authors
Verlag der Autoren is a Frankfurt-based, author-owned German publishing house and creative agency that licenses theatrical scripts to professional DACH theaters via a gated Deutscher Bühnenverein platform, sells books direct online, and represents film and media rights for hundreds of authors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1969
- HeadquartersFrankfurt, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Publishing House of the Authors does
Verlag der Autoren GmbH & Co KG is a privately held German authors' publishing house and multi-disciplinary creative agency headquartered at Taunusstrasse 19 in Frankfurt am Main (HRA 20219), governed by its Autorenstiftung (authors' foundation). The company operates five interconnected divisions — Theater Verlag, Medien Agentur, Literatur Agentur, Choreographie, and Buch Verlag — on a shared roster of hundreds of represented authors and translators. Its primary commercial activity is theatrical script publishing and rights licensing, distributing scripts free of charge to professional theaters that are members of the Deutscher Bühnenverein through an authenticated login-based platform, while charging licensing fees for performance rights. Secondary revenue comes from direct-to-consumer book sales via its own online bookshop (e.g., EUR 14 per copy for Spielplatz anthologies) and from film/TV media rights managed through its Medien Agentur, with active festival presence at Filmfest München, Golden Spatz, and the Salzburg Festival.
Underlying technology is a digital content management and distribution platform rather than a software product: it includes authenticated script downloads for verified professional theaters and an e-commerce bookshop for retail customers. The company also runs a B2C book publishing arm with standard retail and wholesale distribution (Buchhandel), a separate media agency division coordinating film rights and production schedules, and a literature agency managing readings and prose rights. No public APIs, partner integrations, mobile applications, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed in the source material.
The business model blends freemium distribution to a gated professional network with transactional retail and licensing royalties. The customer base is segmented into professional theaters (primary, gated by Deutscher Bühnenverein membership), educational institutions purchasing scripts and anthologies (secondary), and film/TV production companies licensing media rights (secondary). The company is independently owned under a Kommanditgesellschaft structure, managed by Thomas Maagh and Dr. Sebastian Richter as Geschäftsführer, and serves primarily the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) with selected international activity into Hungary and the Netherlands.
Publishing House of the Authors firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Publishing House of the Authors
- Legal name
- Verlag der Autoren GmbH & Co KG
- Website
- https://verlagderautoren.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1969
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Verlag der Autoren is a Frankfurt-based, author-owned German publishing house and creative agency that licenses theatrical scripts to professional DACH theaters via a gated Deutscher Bühnenverein platform, sells books direct online, and represents film and media rights for hundreds of authors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Publishing House of the Authors industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Theater Publishing & Rights Licensing
- NAICS
- Book Publishers (513130)
- SIC
- Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction) (MPAJAAAA)
Keywords
Where Publishing House of the Authors is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Frankfurt
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Publishing House of the Authors business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Theater Script Licensing: Revenue from licensing theatrical scripts and performance rights to professional theaters. Scripts are provided free to member theaters of the Deutscher Bühnenverein, with licensing fees applicable for performances.
- Book Sales: Direct sales of published books through the company's online bookshop. Books include theatrical collections and drama texts priced at standard retail rates (e.g., €14 per copy).
- Film and Media Rights: Representation and licensing of film rights for authors, demonstrated by media agency activities and presence at film festivals like Filmfest München.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Multi-year contract | Professional Theater Script Access (Free) |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Individual Book Sales |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
Publishing House of the Authors product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Verlag der Autoren is a multi-division authors' publishing house that publishes and licenses theatrical scripts, represents authors for film/TV media rights, manages literary reading representation, handles choreography rights, and publishes books. Professional theaters that are members of the Deutscher Bühnenverein access the catalog through an authenticated download portal, while individuals and institutions purchase books directly via the company's online bookshop.
Product overview
Verlag der Autoren is a German authors' publishing house operating as a multi-division platform. The core offering consists of five interconnected divisions: Theater Verlag (theater play publishing with script ordering and download portal), Medien Agentur (film/TV rights and media projects), Literatur Agentur (literary authors and readings), Choreographie (dance and movement works), and Buch Verlag (book publishing with integrated online shop). The divisions share a unified author roster across theater, film, and literature, with a centralized ordering system for scripts and books. Individual author portfolios span multiple divisions—for example, a playwright may also have film adaptations and published books managed through different divisions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Theater Verlag: Theater publishing division focusing on theater plays, scripts, and dramatic works
- Medien Agentur
- Literatur Agentur
- Choreographie
- Buch Verlag
Products and services
- Theater Verlag (Theater Publishing) Publishing and licensing of theatrical plays and scripts, featuring a catalog of contemporary and classical playwrights with performance rights management and a secure download portal for licensed professional theaters.
- Medien Agentur (Media Agency) Manages film and television rights for authors, coordinates screenwriting projects, and tracks production schedules and broadcast dates.
- Literatur Agentur (Literature Agency) Represents literary authors, manages reading events and appearances, and handles rights for prose and other literary works.
- Choreographie (Choreography Division) Specialized division for dance and movement-based theatrical works, managing choreography-related rights and performances.
- Buch Verlag (Book Publishing) Traditional book publishing division with an integrated online bookshop (Buchshop) and retail book trade distribution (Buchhandel) for published works by represented authors.
- Spielplatz Series (Children's Theater Anthologies) Collections of children's theater plays published as anthologies, including titles such as Spielplatz 8 (ISBN 978-3-88661-159-1) and Spielplatz 14 (ISBN 978-3-88661-234-5), featuring multiple playwrights and sold at €14 per copy.
Quantifiable outcome
- Authors represented at major theater festivals including Salzburg Festival, Filmfest München, and Golden Spatz
Companies that use Publishing House of the Authors
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Publishing House of the Authors technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Publishing House of the Authors partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- SchultheatertexteminorVerlag der Autoren maintains a partnership with Schultheatertexte.de, a platform for school theater texts. The collaboration is featured on the theater section of the website, indicating a co-marketing arrangement for educational theater content.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Publishing House of the Authors competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Schultheatertexte.de: German online platform specializing in school theater texts and educational drama. Adjacent peer and existing partnership counterparty for Verlag der Autoren, addressing the educational theater segment with a more digitally focused model.
Direct peers
- Felix Bloch Erben: One of Germany's longest-established theatrical rights agencies and play publishers. Directly comparable as a Berlin-based competitor managing performance rights for a major catalog of German-language playwrights and operating similar B2B theater distribution models.
- Hartmann & Stauffacher: Bad Vilbel-based German theatrical rights agency representing playwrights for stage and media exploitation. Directly comparable as a competitor managing performance, film, and TV rights for German-language theater authors.
- Drei Masken Verlag: Munich-based theatrical publishing house specializing in German-language plays and performance rights. Direct peer in theatrical script publishing with a comparable author roster and rights management focus.
Broad incumbents
- Rowohlt Verlag: Major Hamburg-based German trade publisher (also under Holtzbrinck) with theater and dramatic literature in its catalog. Compares as a broad incumbent publishing some theatrical works, though theater is not its primary focus.
- Carl Hanser Verlag: Munich-based German literary and trade publisher with select theatrical works in its catalog. Comparable as an independent DACH trade publisher with overlapping author and rights management functions.
- Kiepenheuer & Witsch: Cologne-based German literary publisher with theater titles in its catalog. Comparable as a DACH literary publisher managing rights for German-language authors, though operating at significantly larger scale.
- Diogenes Verlag: Swiss-based independent publisher with international literary rights including German-language dramatic works. Comparable as an independent DACH-region trade publisher, though theater is not its core specialization.
- S. Fischer Verlag: Major German literary publisher whose theater program (S. Fischer Theater Verlag) publishes and manages rights for prominent German playwrights. Overlaps in theatrical publishing but operates as part of a much larger general publishing portfolio under Holtzbrinck.
- Suhrkamp Verlag: Prestigious German literary publisher with a notable theater and drama program including works by major contemporary playwrights. Comparable in theatrical rights publishing but much broader in scope, owned by the Suhrkamp shareholder group.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Publishing House of the Authors social profiles
Digital presencePublishing House of the Authors compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Publishing House of the Authors financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Publishing House of the Authors leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Publishing House of the Authors funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Publishing House of the Authors M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Publishing House of the Authors
What does Publishing House of the Authors do?
Verlag der Autoren is a multi-division authors' publishing house that publishes and licenses theatrical scripts, represents authors for film/TV media rights, manages literary reading representation, handles choreography rights, and publishes books. Professional theaters that are members of the Deutscher Bühnenverein access the catalog through an authenticated download portal, while individuals and institutions purchase books directly via the company's online bookshop.
Is Publishing House of the Authors a public or private company?
Publishing House of the Authors is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Publishing House of the Authors founded?
Publishing House of the Authors was founded in 1969. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Publishing House of the Authors based?
Publishing House of the Authors is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Publishing House of the Authors make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Theater Script Licensing is the primary driver. The others are book Sales and film and Media Rights.
Who are Publishing House of the Authors's main competitors?
Schultheatertexte.de is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Felix Bloch Erben, Hartmann & Stauffacher and Drei Masken Verlag. Broad incumbents are Rowohlt Verlag, Carl Hanser Verlag, Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Diogenes Verlag, S. Fischer Verlag and Suhrkamp Verlag.
Does Publishing House of the Authors have an API?
No public API is recorded for Publishing House of the Authors.
What industry is Publishing House of the Authors in?
Publishing House of the Authors's product category is Theater Publishing & Rights Licensing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAAAA, General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction). Its NAICS code is 513130 and its SIC code is 2731.